Dayon Hayes carves out prime spot on Pitt defensive line

At various times in the recent past, Pitt defensive end Dayon Hayes decided he no longer wanted to be a vegan.

Perhaps he made the choice to resume life as a meat eater for healthy, nutritional reasons.

“I wasn’t getting enough protein,” he said.

Or maybe there was something else going at the time.

“I go to my grandma’s, she’s making steak,” he said, laughing. “It was just too hard. None of my family eats like that.”

In any case, Hayes has carved out his place on Pitt’s veteran defensive line that includes four seniors at end and three more at tackle. The line overall is the most experienced position group on the team, with 12 seniors and juniors. Even the offensive line — heralded as a well-seasoned unit — has only nine in those classes.

Hayes, a junior from Westinghouse High School, is making an impression on his coaches while Pitt’s spring drills pass the halfway point.

Coming from the City League, Hayes wasn’t always challenged like he wanted to be.

“Way too easy. Just put the numbers up and left,” he said.

But in Hayes’ third season on campus, the game and his role in it are becoming clearer.

“Dayon is a world ahead of where he was last season,” coach Pat Narduzzi said Thursday after practice No. 8. “Dayon is playing at a high level.”

Perhaps even better than last season when he recorded 7 ½ tackles for a loss, with two sacks, as a reserve. He saved his best for the big moments, recording a career-high three TFLs against Michigan State in the Peach Bowl and a 4-yard sack in the ACC championship game against Wake Forest.

“I’m starting to get it now,” he said. “I feel like I’m becoming a vet.”

He’s also thinking like a vet.

“My first year, I was just trying to get out of the building,” he said. “This year, I’m trying to be the last one out. I told myself, ‘Do everything right, finish strong.’

“My mindset was messed up at the beginning. I was really counting my plays and not making my plays count. The last five games I told myself, ‘Make my plays count when I’m in there.’ ”

Hayes gives credit to line coach Charlie Partridge.

“He hasn’t changed one bit,” Hayes said. “He stayed the same. He stayed being on me the same. We’ve had our ups and downs, but he’s real. I love that coach.”

There will some difficult decisions for Partridge, who is rotating ends this spring, choosing from among juniors Hayes, Bam Brima and Nate Temple and seniors Haba Baldonado, Deslin Alexandre, John Morgan and Chris Maloney.

Third-team All-American Calijah Kancey leads the tackle group that includes seniors Devin Danielson (Thomas Jefferson), Tyler Bentley and David Green and junior DeAndre Jules. Narduzzi also had praise Thursday for the consistency shown by freshman tackle Sean FitzSimmons, who enrolled in January while his Chartiers Valley classmates finish their senior year.

Narduzzi is pleased with the progress his team has made, but he has one worry: He can’t keep everyone upright.

Narduzzi conducts what he calls “thud” drills. The idea is to keep players off the ground to avoid injuries and turn down the aggression while confronting teammates in practice.

He said the worst offender is sophomore safety P.J. O’Brien — “by far.”

“P.J. is the one who stands out. Everybody else is once in a while. P.J. is like every two plays. We’re going to have to coach him up a little bit more.”

It’s a thin line to walk, however.

“I’d rather have to turn them down than turn them up,” Narduzzi said. “My dad used to always say, ‘Hey, when they say go half speed, go full speed.’ (Aggression) is a good thing (on game day), but if you get someone hurt in practice, it’s a bad thing.”

Hayes is also a thud offender, and he got into a minor scrape Thursday with running back Daniel Carter.

It didn’t last long, Narduzzi said.

“Fifteen seconds, then they are both exhausted.”